Broken Arrow
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: An alternate story of how Nathan Hale arrived and fought in the beginning of Fall of Man.  He lands with a number of soldiers and are baptized by the flak over York, and are thrust into a situation none of them were prepared for.  Hale-centered, with OCs


_In an alternate timeline of 1951, Britain is overrun by a race of creatures known only as the Chimera. The Chimeran threat began, according to the British, in Russia during the late 30s. They broke out from that country in 1949, and quickly blitzed across continental Europe in less than four weeks. For many months, England was safe, the English Channel used as a buffer zone between the island nation and Chimeran Europe. _

_This haven, however, was not meant to last._

_In late 1950, the Chimera burrowed _under_ the channel, and within three months, despite stiff and often desperate resistance by the British, the Chimera effectively occupied the country._

_The war was all but lost in Europe…_

_Then, in July 1951, the United States launched Operation Deliverance. Sending 12,000 troops to Britain, America answered the call to arms despite its isolationist views against the rest of the world. The government had sealed its borders in 1950, as a result all forms of news from Europe about the Chimera never reached the public, and only the highest officials and the President knew of the fight across the Atlantic._

_Thus, the American soldiers had no clue as to what they were going to be fighting. And they would pay dearly it._

The VTOL took off from the aircraft carrier, along with many others of the same aircraft. Looking out the portside window, Nathan Hale could see the smoke rising from the land ahead of him. England was a war-zone.

That was what he had been told by his superior officer. _Britain is a house on fire, and no one seems to know why._ With all the factors going against him, Nathan could tell the officer hadn't the slightest doubt as to what was truly going on. The only thing he knew was that the British needed assistance and they needed it badly.

Looking around, Nathan could see his fellow squad mates, some praying, crying, and others silent as the grave. He knew most of these men, well; men in terms of age, almost none of them had any real combat experience. Most were fresh out of collage, and some were as young as 18. America had kept its army relatively small for nearly a century following the Civil War. It was never more than 100,000 strong, since laws had been passed in the 40s reducing military bases and powers.

Nathan was sure he was one of the few who knew how to fight.

He saw Pvt. Kruger sitting next to the large sliding door, checking his carbine, and doing last minute checking of his gear. Hailing from western Iowa, Kruger was the Medic of the group, and was fresh from Harvard when he 'drafted' himself into the Army. He was the shakiest one of the squad. Next to him was Pvt. Reis, also from Iowa, and a friend of Kruger. He was the biggest of the group, muscular and seemingly fearless. Sitting opposite from those two were Pvt. Krajicek, and Lt. Jasper. Jasper, age twenty-four, was the most experienced, having been in the army since he was eighteen. Krajicek was another Iowa guy, tough as nails and cold as ice. He spoke little and let his actions speak for him. He gave Hale the chills.

Kruger was looking at some photo, and Reis was listening to him. Jasper was able to get their attention and he began to explain most of which Hale already knew. "Alright, we're going to land in York. The Brits have something for us and we're flying in to grab it. We might run into some trouble, but not too much. Just keep your mind on following orders and we'll see this as a quickie, is that clear?"

All the soldiers, save for Hale, nodded in agreement.

All of them, including Hale himself, were part of Arrow Unit, which was spearheading the second wave of the operation to aid the British. Within minutes, Nathan knew they'd be seeing the town of York, where his squad would join up with the British Special Forces. Hale had figured it out right from the beginning, so there was little for him to pay attention for.

Instead, he kept looking out the windows of the aircraft, wondering what lay ahead…

As he stood watching the smoke come from the town, Nathan saw tracers. Tracers from Anti-Air rounds!

A violent explosion, most likely from enemy flak, shook the VTOL and Nathan quickly sat down next to Kruger, who was holding onto one of the secure straps on the side, a look of bewilderment on his face, "What the hell! I thought this was a simple rendezvous mission?"

Reis went to the main door leading out, and started to open it when another flak shot knocked the door off the slide, and it fell into the smoking ruins of York.

Jasper, Kruger, and Krajicek checked on Reis, and then they looked out and saw that their fellow soldiers were deploying into the madness below The VTOLs sent in the green light much quicker than they are supposed to, and Reis grabbed a hold of the rope that they were to use for deployment, and went on down. He had not waited for the order to do so.

Jasper was enraged, "Dammit Reis!" He then waved the others into action just as another flak shot shook the VTOL. The pilot's scream was heard, and to Hale that was the order to move. He didn't hesitate, grabbing hold of the rope and descending down. As he went, time slowed down as his eyes caught sight of another VTOL caught on fire, and what looked like the flaming crew falling from it, and crashing down into the streets a few blocks from his VTOL. He had to keep the images of the crew falling from the craft from being in his mind for the fight that was ahead.

Hale kept sliding down, and he hit the street seconds later, landing in a crater from artillery. The rest of the squad came down seconds later and Hale went to the edge of the crater before Jasper called him back. Gunfire was all around the crater, Kruger had tried to look out of the crater but the fire was too intolerable and he slid back into the hole. Reis and Krajicek were on either side of hm, checking ammo that they had used. Krajicek had somehow fired off a few rounds, more than likely at whatever was shooting back. To make matters worse, a heavy explosion from the heavens forced Hale and the rest of the squad to look up and see the VTOL they were just on catch fire, and crash into a nearby building, exploding into smithereens. The stench of burning flesh came quickly.

Jasper shook it off with much resistance, "Everyone here? Reis! Pull another stunt like that again and I will see to it that you're doing desk duty for the rest of you—AHHH!"

In the middle of Jasper's admonishing a sickening smack made Hale look up, and saw to his horror the Lt. Being bludgeoned to death by a two-legged monster with six golden yellow eyes…


End file.
